EP 480717 discloses certain substituted quinoline compounds including [R-(E)-1[[[1-[3-[2-[7-chloro-2-quinolinyl]ethenyl]phenyl]-3-[2-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)phenyl]propyl]thio]methyl]cyclopropaneacetic acid sodium salt (Montelukast sodium salt), methods for their preparation and methods of pharmaceutical formulations using these compounds in mammals especially humans.
The process for the preparation comprises of reacting 2-(2-(2-(3(S)-(3-(2-(7-chloro-2-quinolinyl)ethenyl)phenyl)-3-(methanesulfonyloxy)propyl)phenyl)-2-propoxy)tetrahydro pyran with Methyl 1-(acetylthiomethyl)cyclopropane acetate in presence of hydrazine, cesium carbonate in acetonitrile as solvent to get methyl ester of Montelukast in pyran protected form. The protected compound is further reacted with pyridinium p-toluene sulfonate, sodium hydroxide in a mixture of methanol and tetrahydrofuran as a solvent to afford Montelukast sodium of Formula (I).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,632 discloses the preparation of 1-(mercapto methyl)cyclopropane acetic acid, which is a key intermediate for the preparation of Montelukast sodium. The said patent claimed an improved process for the preparation of Montelukast sodium including the process for the preparation of its key intermediates. The process comprises, the generation of dilithium dianion of 1-(mercaptomethyl)cyclopropaneacetic acid and then condensation with 2-(2-(2-(3(S)-(3-(2-(7-chloro-2-quinolinyl)ethenyl)phenyl)-3-(methanesulfonyloxypropyl)phenyl)-2-propanol (referred as mesylated alcohol) to afford the Montelukast. It is further converted to its corresponding sodium salt via dicyclohexyl amine salt. The patent also discloses the process for the preparation of mesylated alcohol, which comprises reacting Methyl 2-(3(S)-(3-(2-(7-chloro-2-quinolinyl)ethenyl)phenyl)-3-hydroxy propyl)benzoate with methyl magnesium chloride to give diol, which is further converted to mesylated alcohol on reaction with methanol sulfonyl chloride. The process for the preparation of above described benzoate is disclosed in EP 480717 (example 146, step-2), which involves the usage of (−)B-chloro diisopinocamphenylborane as achiral reducing agent. The said patent also claims the process for the preparation of crystalline Montelukast sodium salt.
Many other related patents discloses the process for the preparation of Montelukast and its intermediates but none of those patents are related to the process of the present invention. The prior art procedures involves more number of steps which includes the protection and further deprotection of diol intermediate, the usage of hazardous and costly raw materials such as n-butyl lithium in typical reactions i.e., at very low temperatures (−25° C.). The processes of the prior art references involve tedious workup to isolate the required product and thus results in excess time cycle, which in turn rendering the process more costly and less eco friendly thus the process is not recommendable for commercial scale up.
As the Montelukast sodium of Formula (I), which is useful in the treatment of Asthma, hence, it is important to have a cost effective and commercially viable process for preparing the compound of Formula (I).
Therefore, the main objective of the present invention is to prepare Montelukast sodium in an improved method, which is cost-effective, commercially viable and non-hazardous. The Montelukast sodium is prepared in the present invention; in an improved process that is cost effective and the Montelukast sodium obtained in this process is suitable for pharmaceutical formulations.